


Sun of the Dead

by CVdaring



Series: solangelo drabbles [1]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Angst, How Do I Tag, I love him, M/M, Mutual Pining, Other, Zombie Apocalypse, everyone loves will and so do i, nico is sad and a loner but also p damn snarky, the title is a TERRIBLE JOKE IM SORRY, will solace is hot and a medic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-11
Updated: 2020-10-11
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:20:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,747
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24668260
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CVdaring/pseuds/CVdaring
Summary: Nico's hurt.He's hurt bad.Luckily it isn't the point of no return kind of bad, but he has the feeling it's gonna get there soon if some miracle doesn't happen.////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////basically i havent seen any apocalypse aus so far so i wanted to make onerating for general violence and swearing
Relationships: Nico di Angelo & Will Solace, Nico di Angelo/Will Solace
Series: solangelo drabbles [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1783603
Comments: 15
Kudos: 69





	1. Nico's POV

**Author's Note:**

> hi i dont usually write fics but i had this idea and it really inspired me. I swear im going somewhere with this. i hope you like it!!  
> ps they're like 18-20 in this, i didnt want to put children through the apocalypse

Nico's hurt.

He's hurt  _ bad.  _

__

Luckily it isn't the point of no return kind of  _ bad,  _ but he has the feeling it's gonna get there soon if some miracle doesn't happen. 

It was a normal, lonesome day for the punk wanderer. He didn't know where he was going, or even where he was in the first place, he just knew he had to keep moving. Day 95 of travelling alone during the apocalypse-- if he could even call it that at this point. It might've been day 95 of solitude but it was day 621 of zombies taking up most of the population. It was just the world at this point. He'd grown numb to it. 

Bianca had to be the one to turn first, it was just Nico's luck. She had to get bit, she had to suffer, she had to start vomiting up her insides right before his eyes… and of course,  _ he  _ had to kill her. She begged him to. 

And then he was alone. He hated being alone, it drove him crazy at first. He spent days searching for any life form that was still breathing, just  _ something _ to hold onto. He'd met a nice young couple, only a few years older than him, Silena and Charles. That didn't last long, because he returned from scouting one day to find them gnawing on each others flesh like some sort of sick and twisted Romeo and Juliet. 

Nico wanted to hurl. 

But he kept moving. He put them down, sending a prayer to whatever dumb God was listening (as if there was one at all).

Months later, after fighting and shooting his way through two states, he met Lee somewhere on the border of Massachusetts. The blonde guy was sick, he couldn't even move. Nico took it upon himself to try and nurse him back to health, especially since it didn't look like he'd gotten the zombie virus… but then winter came. It was hard to go scavenging so often for supplies, even harder to keep the abandoned shed they'd stayed in insulated and cozy. Nico wasn't a doctor, he didn't know what Lee had… but it was clear that nothing he could do would help. So he stayed, just until the guy took his last breath. He mentioned something about how Nico should go to New York, how there would be people there he could turn to. 

Nico didn't. It was half because he literally wasn't sure how to get there, and half because he was starting to think  _ death _ followed him in his shadow. 

He stayed in MA until the winter blew over, heading south to what he assumed was… Connecticut? Maybe Rhode Island? It had been a while since Nico had a geography class. Or a goddamn map. 

Day 502 of the zombie apocalypse was when Nico met two people he desperately needed to get away from. Just so he didn't get them killed. 

A toned, tall, heroic boy with black hair and sea-green eyes (if the state of the world wasn't so shitty, Nico might have felt his heart flutter) and an intelligent, wavy haired blonde her with eyes the color of storm clouds. Percy and Annabeth. 

He had run into them while scouting a bit away from where he set up camp. They needed somewhere to stay, having traveled for so long… and while Nico thought his heart was cold, he couldn't just turn the two away. They were such a sweet, cavity-inducing couple. Not only to each other, but to Nico. Suddenly he found himself remembering what being friendly was like, and it was nice. Caught up in the feeling, he found himself forgetting to run away. 

They offered to travel with him to New York, talking about how he could find a place there. They talked about a camp set up in the city ( _ seemed like a less than ideal place to avoid zombies, but okay _ ), where they'd come from before setting off on a quest to find Percy's mom. (It was, so far, unsuccessful) 

That's when they got split up. 

They were surrounded on nearly all sides, fending off the walkers left and right as the crowd kept getting closer. Nico saw an opportunity, and he took it. He yelled at the couple to run, while he took on the role of distraction. It took a minute or two to convince them, but eventually they ran off, yelling that they'd come back for Nico. If he made it. 

Nico didn’t wait for them. After they'd ran, he'd managed to escape the horde (it was easy when you're short). 

And that's when the current Days of Loneliness started tallying up. 

And now it was Day 95. 

Nico had made it somewhere in the state of New York (he… hoped, at least), but where to go next, he wasn't sure. All the highway signs were practically illegible now. 

  
  


Nico di Angelo tugs anxiously at his backpack straps as he strides into the Willowbrook mall. Of course there were going to be zombies, a plethora in fact, but if he' quiet enough, and light on his feet, they won't notice him. He has a good way of  _ blending into the shadows _ , so to speak. 

He has a list in his mind. He needs a new change of clothes, that's for sure. The black t-shirt he wore already had 20 different holes, the seams are ripping on his jacket, he's pretty sure the button on his pants got lost like two weeks ago, and the soles of his shoes are so thin he might as well walk barefoot.

Then there was water. He'd already gone one day without it, and he's already feeling the effects of dehydration-- not that he wasn't already well acquainted, but damn it still didn't feel nice.

And maybe some food, if he could find any. He'd been living off a pack of twinkies and gum for probably a few days by then. 

Oh, and if he's lucky, some pokemon cards.

What? Yeah, he's been weathered by the effects of death and probably won't crack a smile anytime soon, but come on. You gotta enjoy the little things. 

Nico slips into a pre-ransacked Forever 21, watching his step just to make sure he doesn't crush a hanger. Clothes are strewn about the store, isles knocked over like dominoes, mannequins' broken limbs scattered across the checkered tiled floor. 

Nico tries his best to avoid looking at the corpses that were there too. 

There isn't much to pick from in the clothes department, the place was basically sucked clean already. All he can snag are some black skinny jeans (if they had blood on them, at least he won't know), an ugly army-green jean jacket (it probably has something stupid written on it, but Nico doesn't dare take a second look), and a Hawaiian shirt. 

Style isn’t exactly the first thing on his mind. 

On his way to scout out some shoes, he ends up finding a vending machine tucked into a corner. Apparently luck is on his side today, because there are a couple of Dasani water bottles wedged inside, right passed the already broken glass. Of course, it had to be Dasani. Lady Luck wasn't a  _ saint _ . 

Nico hoofs it over to the Payless, a bit more careless than usual. He wasn’t heard before, so of course the guy gets a little overconfident. Glass crushes beneath his feet, and he can feel the zombies' heads cracking his way… so he picks up the pace. 

_ I just need to get in, get out. They won't even catch me _ , he thinks as he takes a sharp turn into the Payless. The undead woman sprawled across the cashier counter shoots her head up immediately to his presence. Nico curses under his breath, rushing back out of the Payless store. Groans and moans follows close behind him. Suddenly getting new shoes seems a lot less important. 

He starts sprinting down the hall, fumbling for the pistol in his new jacket pocket. Surely there has to be a quieter way, the blasts from the gun will attract way too much attention… as if the whole population of the mall wasn't converging on him already. 

"Fuck it." He spits, cocking the gun and looking over his shoulder to shoot. His aim isn't the best to begin with, and it's even worse while running for his life. There isn't enough time to reach for the spiked board strapped to his back. 

For a moment he thinks he hears gunshots that weren't his in the distance.

And then suddenly Nico's falling. 

He had failed to realize this entire time he was on the second floor. The glass railway that usually prevented mall-goers from falling thirty feet was gone, and now he was plummeting in what seemed to be slow motion towards the remains of it on the first floor. Nico braces himself for the impact, bending at the knees and hoping to do that sick somersault stunt he'd seen in movies. 

He does not do that. 

There's a loud crack as his feet hit the ground, and an anguish cry escapes his lips before he can even think to hold it back. He doesn't know what's broken, but something's DEFINITELY broken. His gun was tossed out of his hand, laying a ground feet away, but he can't even bring himself to think about it amongst the blood rouring in his ears.

So Nico's hurt. 

He's hurt  _ bad. _

_ There's so fucking time for this.  _

Nico shakes his head, trying to get up and run, but another shock of pain shoots through his left leg, knocking him back onto the ground. 

"Fuck, fuck fuck fuck." He manages scramble to his knees, seething. Around him, every zombie on earth seemed to be taking notice. They were stumbling towards the dark eyed boy, and for once he doesn't feel so quick. Nico snatches up his pistol, hands practically vibrating as he tries to get a couple shots on the closest ones. Tears stream down his face, but he doesn't have the mental capacity to know exactly why or even care. 

He scoots himself back until he feels a wall, eyes darting every which way a zombie approaches and promptly trying to shoot it off. He misses way too many times than he likes to admit. It was starting to feel hopeless. 

And then it really feels hopeless when his gun makes a clicking noise. 

_ No more ammo.  _

"FUCK." Nico aimlessly throws his arms over his shoulders until his hands find the spiked board on his back. He whips it out, and holds it in front of him at the ready. As if it will get him out of there alive, there are too many of them. They just keep coming. 

He's very ready to give up as his breathing quickens… but then there are more gunshots.

"THALIA, OVER HERE." 

Nico doesn't see them at first, not until he starts seeing the zombies in the back of the crowd drop like flies. He thinks he's hallucinating, honestly, there's no way he can be that lucky. 

A girl only a couple years older than him emerges in the distance, wielding a machete over her head as she decapitates two undead fucks at once. She's tanned, has a black, long ponytail that ended in a little braid over her shoulder. She has a dirty, ripped purple tank top on, paired with tathered jeans. Her dark eyes lock with Nico's, and the murderous look she had immediately softens. She continues taking out every walker in her path, as gunshots still reign from behind her, taking out all the ones she doesn't get to. 

Nico freezes, watching as his savoirs demolish the threat. He can't find it in himself to speak, every word catches in his throat. 

As one last gunshot fires, he can finally see the other girl. Tall, striking blue eyes, short, messy black hair. She looks like she stumbled out of a dirty 2000's punk band, she has so many chains on her jeans. There's a rough-looking leather jacket tied around her waist, and she's got on a light blue crop top that shockingly matches her eyes to the T. 

Machete girl rushes over to Nico, now splattered in the blood of the undead. She crouches in front of him cautiously. 

"Did you get bitten?" 

Nico pauses. Did he? No, no. None of them got that close, of course not. He shakes his head violently. 

She sighs with relief, venturing closer. "Are you okay? We heard yelling. Are you hurt?" 

"I think somethings broken." Nico chokes out, loosening his grip on his spiked board. 

The blue eyed girl walks up behind the first, eyebrows turning up at the boy. "Where?" 

Nico points to his leg. 

"Okay. It's going to be okay." The dark eyed girl says. Despite her tone lacking the convincing vibrato she was looking for, Nico feels like she's right. He feels safe. "What's your name?" 

"Nico." 

"Hi, Nico. I'm Reyna, and that's Thalia. Now, how about we try and get you out of here, alright?"


	2. Nico's POV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I like him, he's snarky." Reyna whispers to her friend. "I think he'll fit right in if he chooses to stay."
> 
> "In the end that choice isn't up to him, Rey. We don't even know for sure if they'll let us bring him in. You know how everyone is with newcomers." Thalia mutters back. 
> 
> "We'll just mention he's injured right away, then. How could they say no?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay chapter two!! less exposition, more dialogue

Thalia's a pretty shitty driver. 

After exchanging pleasantries, Reyna had to pick Nico up bridal style and insisted to her counterpart that today's scouting mission is cut short. Nico thought to protest, but he couldn't find it in himself. He was in so much pain, every step Reyna took sent a jolt through his leg. They had made it out of the mall soon enough, Reyna laying the boy down in the backseat of their busted up Dodge Neon (which had been tricked out to have deadly sharp strikes welded onto the back and front bumpers, Nico wished he'd thought of that), and Thalia hopping into the drivers seat. 

So yeah, Thalia's a bad driver and Nico feels like he's going to hurl everytime she makes a sharp turn. He has no idea where they're going, Reyna had strapped him from the middle seat just so he wouldn't slide around as they drove. 

"How are you doing back there, Nico?" Reyna asks in a calm, controlled voice as she twists around in the passenger's seat. Nico groans in response. "Alright, well that's not an answer." 

"You guys didn't have to do this." He grumbles, trying to sit up. Time for being thankful was over, he just wanted to go back to being alone. "I would've been fine if you just left me there." 

"Funny way of saying thanks, but you're welcome." Thalia laughs. 

"Would hurling in your car be sufficient?" 

"Its been puked in before, trust me." Reyna narrows her eyes at the boy, studying his face. "And you would've died, Nico. There's no way we would have just left you there, even if you had been bitten." 

"Yeah, then we would've just put you out of your misery." Thalia's grip tightened on the steering wheel as they took another jerky sharp turn. Nico was starting to recognize where they were, but only from pictures. The Big Apple. New York City. 

Nico cringes at the thought, but honestly he agrees. He would've wanted to put a bullet through his own skull if he started turning. 

"Fine. Where are we going then, huh? Isn't the city kind of a shitty place to  _ avoid _ these things? They're fucking everywhere." 

Reyna throws him a kind smile, just as Thalia drives right into some undead pedestrians, skewering them to the spikes of her car. "We're going to get you some medical attention. Surviving the apocalypse alone is gonna be pretty difficult with a broken leg, right?" 

Nico grumbles in protest. 

"Hey, why the hell were you alone in there anyway? You got a death wish or something?" Thalia barks, eyeing him in the rear view mirror. "It's dangerous to travel alone." 

"I have actually been doing pretty fucking well, thanks." Nico spits, crossing his arms. He hates this, he wants to bolt as soon as he can but… well, he wouldn't make it very far. Not like this. 

Reyna and Thalia exchange amused looks. 

"I like him, he's snarky." Reyna whispers to her friend. "I think he'll fit right in if he chooses to stay."

"In the end that choice isn't up to him, Rey. We don't even know for sure if they'll let us bring him in. You know how everyone is with newcomers." Thalia mutters back. 

"We'll just mention he's injured right away, then. How could they say no?" 

"So we're just going to direct the angry mob at Will then because he has the excruciating inability  _ not _ to help someone?" 

"You know damn well once he's got a say in it, everyone will follow soon. He's contagious that way." 

"Ugh, okay. You're doing the talking, Rey. We're here." 

Nico was so focused on eavesdropping that he didn't even notice they were pulling up to a tall, guarded area surrounded by large planks of wood and scraps of metal. It seems to stretch all around a massive building… Madison Square Garden, maybe? He's unfamiliar. 

The car pulls up to a big gate in the center of the barrier, guarded by two new people on each side. They both had shotguns in their arms, and metal bats strapped to their back. One of them ran over to Reyna's window, motioning for her to roll it down. He's about Nico's age, with sandy, shaggy brown hair and blue eyes. 

"Hey, you guys!" He says with a wild grin. "Glad you two made it back in one piece, you better have that stuff Lou asked you to get, she keeps barking at me through the walkie. She's going absolutely….crazy…" his voice falters as his eyes lock with Nico's in the back seat. "...huh." 

"Yeeeeah… about that, Cecil…" Thalia says, looking over at Reyna. 

"We got a little sidetracked. We only managed to grab a few things of food, but then we found-" Reyna gestures behind her "-Nico. He's in a rough shape. You think you can let us through? We need to get him up there to see the medic." 

Cecil bites his lip, really chewing on the question. "I don't know, guys… you know how everyones gonna act when they see a new face." 

"We know, and we're prepared for it." 

"Hey, I'm not!" Nico pipes up. "Just drop me off at some corner store, I'll be fine. I don't wan--" 

"I swear to god, Nico, if you don't let us help you, I'm going to have to break your other leg." Reyna snaps, a threatening glow in her eye. 

Nico shuts up. 

Cecil sighs, putting up his hands. "Yeah, alright. Don't say I didn't warn you. I'll open the gate." He backs up from the car and runs over to the gate. "Chris, cover me." 

The other guard levels his gun, searching for anything to aim at. 

The gate opens with a soft squeak, and the car lurches forward into the guarded area. Nico looks around curiously. There's only a few more people outside the building, walking around with their weapons at the ready. Some are laughing and having a friendly chat, which Nico finds so… foreign. They're in an apocalypse for fucks sake. Was this really the time to be laughing? Having a good time? 

The car turns and comes to a stop, and his two escorts climb out of their seats. 

"Alright, grumpy, let's get you to the roof." Thalia says, opening up the back seat door. 

"Oh gods, we have to go all the way to the roof?" Nico groans, clicking off the seatbelt around his waist. There was no use in fighting it now, he was going with them whether he liked it or not. 

"Don't worry, we aren't taking the stairs." Reyna says as she loops her arms under the punk boy's chest, carefully lugging him out of the car. 

Thalia took one of his arms over her shoulder (carrying his backpack and things around her back, along with her own bag), and Reyna took the other. Nico wants to die over how goddamn helpless he looks, but he knows it's not the time to dwell on it.

He seethes a little as they start hobbling him over to a platform connected all the way to the roof by ropes. It looks like a window washers platform but it wasn't near any windows-- at least not any that could be cleaned. They were all boarded up. 

"Alright, when we get up there, let us do the talking. Everyone's going to be a little freaked out when they see you." Thalia warns as she pushes a button on the platform and they are all lifted up. 

"Thats the third time I've heard that. It doesn't make me any more excited." Nico hisses, glaring at the ground. 

"It'll be okay, maybe we can even rush you to the medical tent up there before anyone notices." 

It was wishful thinking. 

As soon as they reached the top, people started talking. 

It was an insanely large roof, completely full of people. There were pop up tents scattered across the roof, but none of them seemed very homey. People of all shapes and sizes where litter about, previously engaged in conversation before the trio emerged. All the way across the roof was the biggest tent, with a big, messy red cross painted on the front. 

Nico's immediately sure they aren't going to make it. 

"Thalia, Reyna!" A few people call out in excitement. When everyone else turns to look, there's a sea of murmurs casted across the roof. The people started congregating around them one by one. 

"I want to go back down." 

"Hush." Thalia shoots back at Nico, keeping a keen eye on the group. "Hey everyone, we'll chat later, got some business to attend to." 

They start walking forward, but barely anyone moves to make way for them. 

"Who is  _ that _ ?" 

"A straggler?" 

"Why the hell did you bring him here?" 

There's now a chorus of questions around them, and everyone's expecting an answer. 

A blonde boy with glasses pushes through the crowd, grinning at Thalia, but the face immediately falls when he sees Nico. Nico expects the buff guy's about to kick him out, and honestly he almost welcomes it. 

"Is he okay?" He asks, suddenly with the same look in his eye that Thalia had given him before. 

"I can talk." Nico grumbles. 

"Nico, shut up, remember what I said?" Thalia snaps, then looks back at the blondie. "Yeah, Jason, he's fine. Besides the whole probably broken leg part." 

"Gods, sis, you should've had Cecil walkie us up here so I could clear a path." Jason looks around at the crowd of people, stilling muttering a shitload of questions. "I don't know if i can get everyone's attention to make them scatter…"

"Then we'll just have to push through." Reyna says, and immediately tried to trek onward-- only to be met with another blonde, but this time he was gaunt and stern, with piercing blue eyes.  _ Gods, whats with the blue eyes around here. I'm getting tired,  _ Nico thinks. 

He glares down at Nico, then at Reyna. "Reyna, what the fuck do you think you're doing? You can't just bring some random person in here, you know that." 

"He needs help, Octavian." Reyna growls back, equally meeting his glare. "Now get all these people to move. We need to get to the med tent." 

"You have to be  _ joking _ ." Octavian hisses, jabbing a finger into her chest. "He might be BITTEN, you idiot. Did you even check? How dare you bring a stranger up here?!" 

"He said he's not." Reyna rolls her eyes. "He's not bleeding from anywhere, so I'm inclined to believe him. Let us through." 

"Absolutely not." Octavian crosses his arms, planting his feet tightly onto the ground. The crowd starts getting louder, and Nico cant tell who's side they're all on. "I can't believe you would just take him for his word. This is insane, even for  _ you _ . He could be bitten, he could be malicious. You don't even know him!" 

Nico sighs, glancing over to Thalia. "Is this guy always so annoying?" 

Thalia lets out a strained chuckle. "Yep." 

Octavian growls, balling up his fists. "You two should have  _ never _ brought outside scum into our camp. Go and take this shit back where he came from." 

"Hey, dude, why don't you calm down for a second, yeah?" Jason placates, trying to pull the angry boy back. 

"Me?! They're  _ endangering _ our people, you idiot. I'm being perfectly reasonable." 

"No, you're not. We've let strangers in before, remember? Just let them thr-" 

"I WILL NOT. I won't let our camp be destroyed because these two dimwitted decided it would be a grand idea to allow a dirty commoner to enter our sanctuary." 

"Man, do you  _ hear _ yourself?" Nico laughs bitterly, shaking his head. " _ Sanctuary _ ?" 

"See? He's already  _ mocking us _ ." Octavian spits, staring daggers at the dark haired boy. 

"Well you do sound pretty stupid when you call it that…" Thalia murmurs under her breath. The crowds at crazy volumes at this point, Nico can barely hear the people beside him. 

"I can't fucking believe this." Octavian says. "You better take him away right now or so help me I will--" 

There's a piercing whistling noise and everyone goes silent, covering their ears. Nico would, if either of his arms were free. 

The middle of the crowd parts, allowing someone to stomp their way to the center. 

"Alright, now if y'all are done makin' all this damn racket… it seems like I've got myself a new patient." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> omg who's that????  
> tell me what you think!! ps does rick e v e r mention what Cecil looks like because I honest to god have been just going off of other fics ive read.


	3. Will's POV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “What the hell do you think they’re doing?” 
> 
> “I don’t know, I think Thalia and Reyna are back?” 
> 
> “Damn, they must’ve brought something big back to stir up this much commotion.” 
> 
> “Should we wake Will?”
> 
> “Will’s awake.”

Will’s fucking tired.

He had only been at this survivor camp a year, and he’s exhausted.

Despite that, he’s made a lot of friends, people he can joke around with, have fun with, be stupid with. Everyone just seems to like this sunny southern drawl the boy’s got. He finds himself getting along with nearly everybody, excluding that little shit Octavian. 

Even after just a year, Will found himself running the whole Medical division of Camp Half-Blood (he doesn’t understand why they call it that, but he’s not going to argue) along with a few of his siblings he met along the way. When the apocalypse started, he’d been halfway through his pre-med undergrad, but he had enough textbooks and a sharp enough memory to figure out the rest. The camp was a little wary of him and his siblings for a little bit when Cecil first brought them in, but after showing what he was worth by saving an injured kid from meeting an untimely death, he started to fit right in. 

They needed him. Before Lee, Kayla, Austin and him came along, the camp was struggling to keep everyone from dying by infection.  _ Apparently the school system failed to teach ya’ll about disinfectant. _

Lee was his older brother, at least the only one he had been able to find in that one year travelling from Texas. Will looked up to him, envied the way that he could get along with people… So he copied that. It wasn’t that hard, if no one noticed the slight differences between Lee and Will, they might have mistaken them for each other, especially when they had first gotten to camp.

Then, just short of five months of being regular residents on top of Madison Square Garden, Lee wanted to venture out to see if he could find Michael, their other brother who had been off the grid even before Armageddon came. Lee looked confident in his abilities, so WIll wasn’t about to protest. He just sent him out with all the supplies he could spare, and the guy was on his merry way. 

And then Lee never came back. 

Will distracted himself in the med tent, doing anything he could to distract himself from worrying about his brother. He shoves those worries aside to help Kayla and Austin through it, telling them that Lee would be okay, he’ll be back one day, maybe he just got lost. 

There was a lot to do in the med tent. Scouting missions were cast out every day for supplies, and usually they’d come back with scrapes and bruises, so you could say there was never a dull moment. 

Either way, he was still exhausted. He rarely slept, avoiding dreams of what might have happened to Lee out there in the apocalypse-- what might’ve happened to Michael too. It was manageable most of the time, some of the other campers found a stock supply of coffee down in the building where everyone set up their own little homes. Before, he hated the taste of coffee, but now it was like sipping down water. 

  
  


“Will, have you seriously been up here all night?” Kayla yawns as she pulls back the med tent’s flap. 

Will hums in response, sorting through the different sizes of ace bandages they had managed to scavenge on their last run. Runs that Will rarely went on, of course. He was needed back at camp. 

Kayla ventures over to him, carefully prying an ace bandage out of his hands. “Go to bed, dummy. You’re no use to us half awake. I’ll take over from here.”

Will shakes his head. “No, it’s fine. I’ve got this. I’m almost done.” 

“If you don’t get up and outta here right now, William Solace, I’m gonna start crying.” Kayla gently pushes her brother out of the way of the bandages. “And then everyone’s gonna come in and be like ‘oh will, what did you do to make your wonderful, perfect 17 year old sister cry!’” 

“Alright, alright, whatever you say, boss.” Will chuckles, finally yawning. He starts to leave the tent. “I’ll be back once I’ve got some coffee in my system, though. Count on it.”

“You better not be!” 

Will doesn’t respond, stepping out into the sunlight. He takes a deep breath in as he hooks his thumbs into his belt loop and makes his way to the stairwell. They had all the necessary supplies up on the roof, like a food tent, a water tent, weapon supply, and even a little makeshift repair shop. Coffee, of course, was down in the building. A lot of campers didn’t think it was that essential, their brains already woken up by the fear of possible death everyday. 

Eh, but WIll’s used to it. It was starting not to scare him at all, after watching so many pass in front of him. So he needs the sweet taste of caffeine. 

One of the private rooms that circled the main court was reserved for coffee and chilling. It was kind of like a little coffee shop, minus the baristas and money… So more like an office break room. 

“Hey, Will!” He hears over his shoulder as he’s brewing his first cup. He turns around, slapping a smile on to cover up the tiredness. 

“Thalia Grace, what can I do ya for?” 

Thalia walks up to him as she ties her leather jacket around her waist. “Reyna and I are going on a supply run for Lou and a couple other campers today. We’re hitting up a mall, you think there’s anything you need?” 

Will scratches his chin, pondering the thought. “Well, we can always use some more first aid kits... Other than that I think we’re pretty stocked up for once. Just come back safe, alright? I don’t wanna have to deal with Jason throwin’ a fit while I patch up his sister.” 

Thalia rolls her eyes with a smirk. “I would never put you thought that. Okay, I’ve gotta run, I think Reyna’s already started the car. Can’t keep my lady waiting.”

She’s almost out the door before Will speaks up again. 

“Oh, wait, and… Thalia, if you could--”

“We’ll keep an eye out like always, Doc.” 

“Right. Thank you.” Will doesn’t get his hopes up.

Right as Thalia leaves, Lou Ellen rushes in, making b-line to the doctor. “WILL! Did you hear? Reyna and Thalia are gonna go scout for me today! They’re gonna get some cheetos, maybe some chains, as much sugar as they can find, and if I’m lucky they’ll stumble across some club soda or something. I’m so fucking pumped.”

“What on earth are you planning to do with…” Will sighs, shaking his head as he pours out his coffee into a mug. “Actually, Lou Ellen, I’m not even gonna ask.”

“Good, cause I wasn’t going to tell you” Lou throws him a half-hearted punch in the arm, then frowns. “Hey, are you okay? I’m tired just looking at you.”

“I’m doin’ alright, just need some energy.” Will takes a swig of his coffee, but quickly pulls back when his mouth feels like it’s on fire, cursing under his breath. Maybe it was the exhaustion that made him forget how hot coffee is right out of the pot.

Lou shakes her head, chuckling. “You’re hopeless, Barbie. I’d tell you to go get some rest, but I assume a certain sister already tried that?”

“Your critical thinking skills are improvin’.” Will quips dryly. He rubs his eyes. “I’ll sleep tonight, I just want to be awake when Thalia and Reyna come back. Just in case.” 

“You know Austin and Kayla would be able to take care of it on their own if you conked out now.” 

“I know.” Will sighs and begins to walk out of the coffee room, but Lou Ellen grabs his wrist, yanking him to one of the tables set up.

“At least sit down for a bit, talk about stupid shit with me.” She puts out her lower lip, really giving him those big green puppy dog eyes. 

“Fine, but only so I can finish this cup to get another one.” Will sighs. 

They talk for a good hour, and Will hopes Kayla thinks he’s at least taking a nap. Lou Ellen goes on to talk about how her tarot cards she pulled for the camp the night before had a really interesting message, but Will didn’t particularly understand it (something about the Lovers?  _ Yeah, alright. _ ), nor did he understand how she was still a believer in that type of shit. As far as he was concerned, any god was dead, and any other high power wasn’t listening. But instead of shitting on her religion, he just nods and listens. By the time they're done, Will finds himself laughing a little less tired, and he knows it’s not just because he’d blown through 3 cups of coffee in that hour. 

Will heads back up to the roof just to find good ole Percy and Annabeth in the med tent… Like always. 

“What is it this time, Percy?” Will chuckles, causing the couple and his sister to finally acknowledge his presence at the entrance. 

Before Kayla can absolutely berate her brother, Percy grumbles a reply. “Annabeth and I were doing target practice and dislocated my shoulder…”

“You’re the one that tripped over me, Seaweed Brain!” Annabeth snaps back. As Will looks her over, she seems fine. She just came in for Percy’s moral support. 

“Will, shouldn’t you be in bed?” Kayla asks, clearly holding back her temper in front of the patients. 

“I got a little bit of shut-eye, I’m feelin’ great.” Will waves her worry off, flashing a bright grin. “Now, you wanna relocate his shoulder, or shall I?” 

Kayla sighs, officially giving up on her brother. “I’ve got it, you just sit and talk to him or something.” 

_ Ah, yes. The distraction. _

Will plops down in a chair, right by Annabeth, He leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “So Percabeth, what’s the plan for today?”

“Well we  _ were  _ planning on going out and looking for my mom a little bit more... “ Percy looks down as Kayla takes his arm. “And…”

“And Nico, you know, the guy we met a couple months ago?” Annabeth finishes for him as her boyfriend stares defeated at the ground. Will nods, he had heard about the guy when the two came back the last time. “We’re worried about him… He wasn’t where we told him to be when we circled back… But  _ now _ we can’t.”

“Because of that dumb  _ one scouting mission at a time _ ru-AH!” Percy curses as Kayla takes her hands off his new relocated shoulder. “Gods, Kayla, can’t you give me a warning?” 

Kayla just shakes her head, grinning. 

“I’m sure your friend’s fine.” Will says calmly, reaching over to put a hand on Percy’s arm. “Y’all said he was really kickass, right? He probably just got sidetracked.”

“That’s why we wanted to go searching again. He’s out there somewhere, we want to bring him here.” Annabeth sighs. 

“Thalia and Reyna will be back tonight, maybe even sooner. You guys can go out tomorrow, okay? He’ll be fine. If he’s survived this long, he’ll survive one more day.” Will sent them both a hopeful grin. Just another thing he’s gotten used to, placating other people’s worries. He honestly had no idea about this “Nico” guy, but it was no use thinking he might be dead. 

Annabeth mirrored his grin, looking at her boyfriend. “This means we can extra prepare to go out tomorrow! We need to go check our list-- no, double check it!” She leaps to her feet, already running out the door. “Come ON, Seaweed Brain!”

Percy reluctantly rises to his feet, groaning. “Look what you did, Will, now I have to go double check some lists. Gods know she’ll probably do something crazy and make me triple check it or something.” 

Will laughs, waving him off. “Good luck, you two.” 

As soon as Percy leaves, Will hops right into work, practically daring Kayla to stop him, but she doesn’t. He organizes some of the surgical needles they stole from a hospital, the syringes, the tongue dispensers ( _ Why do we have these again? We’re not a doctor’s office),  _ and every other thing he can think of in front of him. It takes a lot longer than he wants to admit, but that was only because halfway through a task he’d zone out looking at whatever was in his hands. Suddenly he felt very inclined to admit he needed a nap, but he’s on a roll. He shoves all the supplies in their respective boxes, scribbling what’s in them in his disastrous doctor’s handwriting. A couple of people come in, complaining about a cold they might be catching, and Will doesn’t hesitate to be the one to help them. As soon as they leave, baggies of cold medicine in hand, he leans back on that chair he had been sitting on before. 

He meant to just shut his eyes for a quick second to recollect his thoughts, but suddenly he fell into a, for once, completely dreamless sleep. 

And then there’s voices. 

“What the hell do you think they’re doing?” 

“I don’t know, I think Thalia and Reyna are back?” 

“Damn, they must’ve brought something big back to stir up this much commotion.” 

“Should we wake Will?”

“Will’s awake.” Will slurs, sitting up straight in his chair. Gods, his bones ache from the shity posture, but there’s nothing he can do about it now. He rubs his eyes. “What’s goin on?”

Kayla and Austin are at the front of the tent, peeking out the flap. Will hears the murmurs of a crowd a little ways outside. Austin waves him over, so he stands and stumbles to see what all the fuss is about. 

Across the roof, everyone is surrounding something near the platform that went down to the ground floor. “What the hell is that about?”

“Don’t know.” Austin shrugs. “Everyone just started congregating.”

“It’s kind of annoying, honestly.” Kayla adds. 

Will yawns, stretching his back. “Alright, well, since ya’ll are no help, guess I’m goin’ to be checkin’ it out myself.” 

“Are you sure you’re awake enough for that, Will?” Kayla asks, laying a hand on his arm. 

“Awake as I’ll ever be.” Will ducks out of the tent, taking a glance at where the sun is in the sky: Setting. He must’ve been asleep for a few hours, and honestly it felt good. He hooks his thumbs through the belt loops of his jeans once again, making his way towards the roaring crowd. Just as he reaches the outside, he can faintly hear the voices from the center over the noise.

"I WILL NOT. I won't let our camp be destroyed because these two dimwitted decided it would be a grand idea to allow a dirty commoner to enter our sanctuary."  _ Ugh, Octavian. _

"Man, do you  _ hear _ yourself?  _ Sanctuary _ ?"  _ A new voice.  _

"See? He's already  _ mocking us _ ." 

Somebody else murmurs something.

"I can't fucking believe this. You better take him away right now or so help me I will--" 

Will sighs as Octavian says that one last thing and the roar of the crowd grows louder. He’d say it’s too early for this shit, but honestly it’s like 8pm. Will puts two fingers in his mouth and blows, a shrill whistle silencing the crowd. In it’s silence, he pushes his way through, until he finally has a good look at the scene. 

Octavian, looking as annoyed as ever. Jason Grace, looking as confused as ever. And Thalia and Reyna… But between them was a boy held up by their shoulders, glaring daggers at Octavian. His hair was a black hole of mess on top of his head, skin a light olive tone. His obsidian eyes only accentuated the dark bags under them (something that Will was finding himself relating to much too often lately). The first thing Will thinks is that it’s kind of funny, seeing this short, brooding man in a hawaiian shirt. The second is how beautiful the young man is, despite looking like he’s been through hell and back. The third is noticing how he’s not putting any weight on his left leg. 

Will grins. 

"Alright, now if y'all are done makin' all this damn racket… it seems like I've got myself a new patient." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> did i make will unnecessarily more southern? yes. my hand slipped


	4. Nicos POV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nico forgets to breathe for a second. 
> 
> He forgets a lot of other things too, like the pain in his left leg, the annoyance towards some guy named Octavian, the want to leave, the brooding, pissy persona he was trying to keep up. 
> 
> But mostly it was the breathing thing. 

Nico forgets to breathe for a second. 

He forgets a lot of other things too, like the pain in his left leg, the annoyance towards some guy named Octavian, the want to leave, the brooding, pissy persona he was trying to keep up. 

But mostly it was the breathing thing. 

A golden, curly haired southern god parted the sea of people and took his breath away. He was tall, probably had half a foot over Nico, and real tan, like he never took time out of the sun. His face was full of constellations of freckles, only a couple shades darker than his skin. The smile he gave was almost too bright for someone living in the apocalypse.  _ Do these people really have time to worry about dental hygiene? _ The golden boy's eyes were, of course, blue… but Nico didn't feel too tired staring into these ones. They were sapphire, a calming sort of hue. He wore a sea foam green V-neck, with a flannel over top, and light, dirty jeans. 

Suddenly Nico's fine with that he wasn’t supposed to be speaking, he's forgotten how to do that too. 

"Will, please tell these idiots that they cannot just allow a stranger into our--" Octavian starts. 

"Didn't you just hear what I said?" Will narrows his eyes at the other blonde. "You're certainly not givin' the guy a warm welcome, now are ya. Don't you got some stuffed animals to take out your angst on? Go on." 

Nico wants to melt. He never really thought southern drawls were that enchanting until now.  _ Stop it, stop it. You're going to leave as soon as you're fixed up. Get it out of your damn head.  _

Octavian opens his mouth to reply, but ends up huffing and shoving off into the crowd. 

"I was wondering when Mr. Golden boy was gonna show up." Thalia grins, coaxing Nico and Reyna forward. 

"Woulda been here sooner if Kayla and Austin didn't let me fall asleep." Will huffs, crossing his arms. Immediately he switches, throwing a soft smile Nico's way. "Alright, let's get you over to my tent, huh? I can already tell you shouldn't be walking on that leg at all." He tilts his head towards the tent in the distance, now once again fully visible through the cut in the crowd he'd made. 

Thalia and Reyna lug Nico along, Jason following close behind. Its not long before they're in the medical tent, and Nico's surprised by how many boxes of supplies they have stashed away in the corner. There's two other people that meet him at the door. A teenage African American boy with cornrows and brown eyes, and a teenage white girl with ginger hair slowly shifting into a bright green. They step back as Nico and his human crutches enter the tent, eyeing the punk boy with wide eyes. 

Will goes over to a makeshift bed (a mattress on top of two layers of cinder blocks) in the corner and pats down on it. Reyna and Thalia make their way over until finally helping Nico sit down. Sitting down is blissful. 

"What's your name?" Will asks with a smile as he rummages through a box near the bed. 

"Nico." It's really all he can say at this point. 

The medic stills for a second, no longer looking at the boy. Nico pretends not to notice, he has no idea why he would have such a reaction to his name. After what seems like a full minute, Will continues rummaging. "Nice name, Nico. The name's Will Solace." He turns around with some sort of splint contraption in hand. "I'm gonna be your doctor for today. Aaand maybe the next few days, depends. You mind telling me what happened?" 

Nico ignores the question, glaring over at Reyna. "You never said anything about me being here for  _ days. _ " 

Reyna puts her hands up in defense. "I'm not the doctor, Nico, I don't know how bad your leg is." She turns to Will, who's now raising an eyebrow at the two. "Apparently he fell thirty feet or so off the second story of the mall. He's not bitten or anything." 

"Oh, he woulda turned already if he was, don't worry." Will chuckles, kneeling down besides Nico with the splint. "Lay down for me, will ya? I'm gonna have to roll up your pant leg to assess the damage." 

Nico nods, carefully adjusting himself to lay down the worst bed he's ever laid on. Gods he hopes he doesn't have to stay overnight, its gonna be a nightmare on his back. 

Will gingerly rolls up the leg of his pants, watching Nico's face in fear he's being too rough with it. Once it's up to the knee, he looks back at the leg and clicks his tongue. "Yep, definitely broken. Royally fucked, honestly. That's s'alright, it's not untreatable. Kayla, could you come here for a second?" 

The girl with ginger hair runs up beside him. "What's up?" 

"Talk to him while I get him in this splint." 

Kayla hesitates, before turning to look at Nico. "So uh… your name's Nico, huh? You've got a last name?" 

"Is that important?" Nico grumbles. He doesn't understand why he needed someone to talk to him while his leg is getting put in a splint, but he kind of welcomes it. It definitely takes his mind off of the hot medic's hands on his leg. 

Kayla pouts, crossing her arms. "Not really, this is the end of the world, but I'm just curious and it's polite. I'm Kayla, Kayla Knowles." 

Nico sighs. "Di Angelo. Where the hell am I exactly? These two didn't give me the grand tour." 

"You could've asked." Thalia murmurs, standing off to the side with her brother. 

"You're at a survivor camp in New York City. Madison Square Garden, actually. You can see the Empire State Building from here!" Kayla smiles, and Nico can't help but see a resemblance to Will. "We call our camp Camp Half Blood, if that helps any. There's not a whole lot of people here, but there's a good chunk. Enough to keep up with. My brothers and I have only been here for almost a year, but I think it's been going since the first day the government shut down, ya know? I--" 

Nico would've kept listening if there wasn't suddenly a giant shock of pain coming from his leg. "AH, FUCK." He shoots up back to sitting, clutching onto the edges of the mattress so tightly his knuckles were white. "What the  _ hell  _ did you  _ DO _ , Solace?!" 

Will had his hands on each side of Nico's calf, looking at him with an innocent grin. "Had to put your bones back in place,  _ di Angelo. _ Can't have 'em growin wrong." He starts to equip the splint onto his leg, whistling along as he does it. 

"And you thought that distracting me while you did it was a good fucking idea?!" 

"I needed you to relax, it's easier that way." Will tightens up the last velcro strap of the splint before rising to his feet and looking over at Thalia and Jason. "Hey, Graces, I have a job for each of you." He walks over to the siblings, whispers something to them, then watches as they shoot him a confused look before scurrying out of the tent. 

“This is going to be a nightmare.” Nico grumbles, glaring at his leg. 

Reyna leans over, resting a hand on his arm, to which he immediately flinches away from. She sighs, “It won’t be bad. Everyone here is really kind, and after you’re healed… Maybe you can stop this whole ‘better off alone’ thing you’ve got going on.” 

“It’s not my ‘thing’.” Nico hisses, refusing to meet her eyes. “It’s just true. And you’re seriously telling me everyone here is nice? Remember like ten minutes ago when that idiot was screaming for me to get out? Likely story.” 

“That’s just Octavian.” Reyna groans, rolling her dark eyes. To the side of her, Kayla copies the look, nodding along in agreement. “An annoying little rat of a man. Trust me, Nico, the rest of the camp isn’t like that. Besides, if Will approves of someone, everyone else will too. He’s saved too many lives for this camp not to care about his opinion.”

“I don’t care if he approves of me or not.” Nico crosses his arms. “As soon as I can walk again, I’m out of here.”

“I think you’re gettin’ a little ahead of yourself, Hot Topic.” Will drawls from behind Reyna. Nico didn’t even see him walk back up. A scowl falls on Nico’s face at the nickname, but the makeshift doctor just laughs it away. “Can I get you anything, by the way? Water? Food?” 

Nico shakes his head, refusing to be enthralled by Will’s practically glowing smile. No one should be this goddamn happy during the end of the world, and yet he was emanating some sort of joyous ray of warmth. 

Will gives an amused hum, raising an eyebrow at the guy. “Sure, alright. Y’all watch him, I’m gonna go get Mr. Grumpy something anyway. Make sure he doesn’t go anywhere.”

“We’ll watch him like a hawk, doc.” Kayla says to her brotherly playfully, giving him a two finger salute. Then she glares as he starts to walk away. “And don’t you dare go get yourself another coffee, you’re going to sleep tonight, you know!” 

Will only answers with another laugh, waving behind him. Nico thought to protest, but his voice died out by how dry he realized his mouth was. Maybe water wasn’t such a bad idea. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> guys writing is hard i didnt really know how to end this chapter ill be honest. more in the next chapter tho! i be sure to make it longer


	5. Will's POV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Go get Percy and Annabeth, he had told the Grace siblings, mention Nico.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey yall I totally abandoned this but then someone commented on it to continue it like 4 days ago so . Your wish is my command. Tell me if you want me to do more!

Like Reyna, Will also likes snarky people. 

They’re kind of like a challenge for him, and he likes challenges. Although this challenge was kind of feeling hopeless at the moment. 

Will could tell he’d have to keep an eye on Nico. The guy seemed like he was just itching to run off the first chance he got, and while he wouldn’t get very far, Will was ready to find a reason to get him to stay. 

Go get Percy and Annabeth, he had told the Grace siblings, mention Nico.

No, he wasn’t sure it was the same Nico, but it was worth a shot. It was going to be great to see their little reunion if it was. Fate had a weird way of working like that, especially after it was kind of Fate’s fault for putting the world into ruin in the first place. Again, it’s the little things, like finally putting the endless worry of his two friends to rest. 

Will goes over to the water tent. It’s small, stocked full of cases of bottled water and a couple of dispensers. Will snatches up a few bottles, just in case this Di Angelo kid ends up downing the first one in an instant. He looked pretty dehydrated.

As he walks out, he meets Percy’s eyes as him and Annabeth are rushing out of the stairwell, panting like they’d run a mile. Percy runs over to him, eyes wide. 

“You’re kidding, right?!” He huffs, grabbing Will by his shoulders. “Jason said to come up here, he said there’s a guy named Nico here? Are you serious?” 

Will nods, grinning. “Look, I don’t know if it’s your Nico, but I thought I’d let you know. He came up here with Reyna and Thalia when they got back.”

Annabeth’s suddenly behind Percy, leaning on her boyfriend for support. “They said he was in the med tent, is he okay?!” 

“Just a broken leg, nothing to worry about.” Will placates. He jerks his head over to the med tent. “I’m about to go back there, why don’tcha come see for yourself? Maybe he’ll calm down his attitude a little.”

“That sure sounds like Nico.” Percy smiles at his girlfriend, excitement beaming in both of their eyes. Gods, it was gonna be real disappointing if it was the wrong Nico. 

They start walking towards the med tent, Percabeth following directly in Will’s shadow. 

“Would you two stop fucking staring at me, it’s not like I can leave.” They hear from inside the tent. Will notices both Percy and Annabeth still behind him as he peels open the tent flap. 

“Will told us to watch you like a hawk, so we are.” Kayla replies. She’s sitting on the bed neighboring Nico, along with Reyna. The two were just staring at the boy, who looked immensely uncomfortable. Like any second longer and he was going to crawl out of his skin. They don’t immediately notice Will and others standing at the entrance. 

Will looks over at Percy. “Well?” 

“Oh my gods.” Percy whispers, staring wide eyed at the patient. Annabeth copies his look. 

Will beams, turn back to the other three who still didn’t bother looking over. “Alright you two, give the guy some room, you’re suffocating him. Besides, he’s got some visitors.” 

They all look up at his voice, confusion strewn across all three faces. Nico’s most of all, but when his obsidian eyes pan to the side of Will, he gasps. All the negative emotions drain from his features, leaving only shock. 

“Oh my GODS.” Percy and Annabeth exclaim in unison. They rush over to Nico and kneel down beside his bed. They pause, staring in silence for a moment before Percy launches forward, engulfing the kid in a hug. 

“I can’t believe you’re here. We were thinking the worst, we thought they got you or- or you got lost or-” 

“Nico, we looked for you everywhere, it’s been three months. You weren’t where we told you to be, do you know how worried sick we were?”

Nico stays still in Percy’s arms, too surprised to hug back. Will honestly wonders if he’s processing anything that’s happening.Percy releases him when he doesn’t say anything, looking at him expectantly for an answer. 

It takes a couple seconds, but one comes. “Sorry.” Nico’s eyes flicker between the couple, blinking a few times just to make sure they’re actually there. He looked so vulnerable for those moments, nothing like the guarded guy that had walked in here. “I didn’t… I didn’t think--” 

Annabeth takes his hand, giving him a calm and soft smile. Nico looks like he wants to move out of her grasp, but he can’t bring himself to do it. “It doesn’t matter, Nico. Gods, I’m so glad you’re alive.”

“We were just about to set off tomorrow to try and find you again.” Percy adds, tears beading up in his eyes. “We still might, we were going to look for my mom too, but… damn. One less person to worry about.” 

Nico somehow found a way to look more shocked, which Will thought was crazy because he was sure if his eyes got any wider, they’d fall right out of his skull. “You’ve been looking for me?”

“Of course we were, dummy.”

Nico pauses again, and like a switch went off in his brain he narrows his eyes at them and hits Percy upside the head. “You’re the idiot, Jackson. I can’t fucking believe you’d risk yourselves like that for some guy you knew for a month. Do you two have a death wish or someshit?!” 

Annabeth laughs wistfully, shaking her head. “Good to know you’re the same as always, Nico.” 

As the three kept talking, both Kayla and Reyna rise from their seats and walk over to Will. Kayla leans in curiously. “That’s the Nico they’ve been looking for? I can’t believe…” 

Will nods, still grinning as he stared at the reunion. It was a breath of fresh air, really. He kind of hoped he’d get the same kind of thing with Lee… but he didn’t let himself really think about that too much. It just made him sad. “I just had a feeling, so I told the Graces to send ‘em up here.”

Kayla turns towards the reunion too, a small smirk inching onto her face. It falls after a moment, and Will can practically tell she was thinking the same thing he had been a second before. 

“Kayla… Why don’t you go take a break for a little, yeah?” He says softly, putting a hand on his sister's shoulder. “How about you go make sure Lou Ellen doesn’t freak out, because I’m nearly positive Thalia and Reyna didn’t get to finish their supply run for her.” He glances at Reyna, who smacks her forehead. 

“Shit. Yeah, we should tell her that.” 

Kayla sighs, facing Will again. “You’re sure? You’re not just trying to get me out of here so you can pull an all nighter again tonight, right?” 

“You can come check before you go to bed. I’ll be fine.” 

She nods, and begins to follow Reyna out of the med tent. 

“You too, Austin. I know you’re just standing in the corner hoping I won’t notice.” Will says without looking at him. He’d been quiet for a while ((AN: almost like the author completely forgot he was there)). Will hears Austin groan before also leaving, and he’s left with the last three. He mosies on over to a stock box, setting the water bottles he was carrying on the ground before rummaging through and pulling out a bottle of Advil. He picks up one of the water bottles and dumps out a couple pills into his hand. 

“You’re telling me you’ve been travelling alone this whole time?!” Annabeth was exclaiming to the poor punk guy. He recoils at the volume, but he refuses to go back to that vulnerable state. 

“I didn’t run into anybody else, Chase, so yeah.” He replies bitterly. “Don’t worry about it, I was fine. You know damn well I can handle myself.” 

Will scoffs, butting in to hand his patient the pills and water. “If you ignore the fact that you had to be carried up here because you absolutely wrecked your tibia, sure you can go with that.” When Nico doesn’t immediately take the pills, Will pushes them toward him again. “There’s no way you’re not in excruciating pain, Nico, take the damn pills.” 

“We can hold him down while you shove them down his throat like a cat.” Percy offers. 

Nico quickly takes the pills and water from Will. “You guys are the worst.”

“We missed you too.” Annabeth smiles sweetly, then looks up at Will. “The break isn’t too bad, right? He’ll be okay?” 

Will does a sharp inhale through his teeth, putting his hands in his pockets. “It’s pretty bad. He’ll be here for a while, but he’ll be fine. 

“He’s not staying up here overnight, right?” Percy asks, now also looking at Will. He rubs his arms, as if the nightly chill in the air suddenly hit him. “It gets cold up here.”

“No, no of course not.” Will finds himself stifling a yawn. Damn, that nearly five hour nap didn’t seem to do much. “We’ll get him set up in a room near the stadium. It’s safer anyhow." 

"Percy and I can go get it set up now, if you want, Will." Annabeth says, rising from her seat.

"That'd be great." Will gives her a warm smile and hopes it doesn't come off as too tired. "Yall think Leo can whip up some makeshift crutches for the kid?" 

"Kid? I'm almost positive we're the same age, dumbass." Nico interjects hotly. 

"Really? I couldn't tell, you're just so small." Will replies, sending a playful look Nico's way. 

"I'm not small!" 

"Actually, Annabeth, I might just be able to carry him down stairs, little guy probably weighs a pound." 

Nico growls, but there's not much heat behind it anymore. It's like he can't bring himself to actually be mad. He looks to Annabeth with pleading eyes. "Crutches, please." 

Both Annabeth and Percy were stifling laughter, looking between the two, but Annabeth nods. "Yeah, yeah sure, we'll pass by his tent before we go down." 

"Don't kill him while we're gone." Percy chuckles, standing up with his girlfriend and beginning to follow her out.

"Are you talking to me or Mr. Fucking Sunshine and Rainbows over here?" Nico asks, narrowing his eyes at their retreating figures. 

Percy pauses at the exit of the tent, glancing between the two before giving a quick "Yep." And leaving. 

Nico looks up at Will, those black hole eyes still narrowed. "You told them to come up here. How did you know?" 

"They talked about you all the time ever since they came back from that big search, I just followed a hunch" Will shrugs. He points to the water bottle still clasped in Nico's hand. "Drink your water." 

Nico rolls his eyes, reluctantly taking a sip. Well, it was a sip, but once the water hit his lips, suddenly the boy was gulping down the whole bottle. He puts down the empty bottle, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. 

Will breaks into a kind grin. "Huh, and here I thought you weren't thirsty." He holds his hand out for the empty bottle. "I've got another one for you right here if ya need it." 

"Shut up…" Nico mutters, handing Will the bottle. There's a pause for a moment as he stares down at his empty hands. "... I can't believe they looked for me."

"What, Percabeth? 'Course they did. Those two got a lot of heart." Will says simply. 

Nico hums. "Can't relate." 

"Yikes, Death Boy, who hurt you?" 

"God." Nico scrunches his nose. "And don't call me that." 

Will laughs, even though it might have come off as a little insensitive. "Yeah, well, as far as I'm concerned, he's dead. So it might be time to reinflate that little shriveled up heart of yours, dontcha think?" 

"I like it better this way." Nico crosses his arms tight over his chest, sort of like a child. 

"That seems real lonely, y'know." Will shrugs his shoulders, walking over to a little recycling can full of empty water bottles. "But hey, whatever floats your cold, brooding boat." 

Will might have said that, but he didn't believe it. There was no way anyone could be happy travelling alone, not during the apocalypse. The thought of having this emo guy leave alone, never to be see again after his leg healed, filled his chest with overwhelming anxiety. Anxiety that he felt ever since Lee left. Alone. 

So it turned into his mission to get the Death Boy to stay. He had time.

**Author's Note:**

> i know, no sunshine boy in this one. i miss him. anyway please tell me what you think! I'll have one more chapter today and then try to get other chapters out as fast as i can (im not going anything but quarantining, so i have time) ps ignore the second ending note?? idk how to get rid of it


End file.
